Improvement in letter-boxes



UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VVAUHOPE LYNN, OF NEW YORK, AND GOTTFRIED GLASEN, OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN LETTE R-BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent'No. 221,084, dated October28, 1879; application filed May 2, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WAUHOPE LYNN, of the city, county, and State of NewYork, and GOTTFRIED OLAsEN, of Brooklyn in the county of Kin gs andState of New York, have invented a new and Improved LetterBox, of whichthe following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to prevent the extraction of letters fromthe box through the slit in whichthey are deposited.

It consists in providing the box with atube extending from the slit atthe top inward and downward, and closing the lower end with spring-doorshaving arms in position to be operated upon by a plunger connected withthe hinged door covering the slit at the top on the outside, whereby,when the outer dooris opened to put a letter in the box, the doors atthe end of the tube are closed, thus cutting off communication throughthe tube with the interior of the box; but when the letter is slippedthrough the slit and the outer door allowed to close, the inner doorsopen and permit the letter to fall within the box.

Italso consists of details of construction and arrangement hereinafterspecifically referred to, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of theinterior of a letter-box provided with ourimprovements. Fig. 2 isa frontview of the box with the casing cutaway on one side and exposing thedevice for oper- I ments, as large packages passed down through the tubeare liable to interfere with its proper working.

Near the bottom of the box, on one side, a door can be provided thatwill close and open both compartments at once, and thus.enable thecollector to remove the contents by opening one door. The twocompartments are not, however, essential, as the improvements can beapplied to the ordinary construction of letter-boxes. 1

O is the slit or aperture through which the letters are passed into thebox. From the illside of this slit a rectangular tube or spout, D,extends, making a slight bend, so as to project toward the'bottom of thebox, as shown in the drawings. This tube must be sufficiently long totake in a letter between its upper and lower end, to avoid interferingwith its proper working.

At the lower end of the tube D, at the edge of each side, are hingeddoors E E, adapted to swing toward each other and close the lower end ofthe tube by the edges coming in contact, as in Fig. 3. From the hingededge of these doors, at one end, arms a to extend upward at an obtuseangle, and are bent around outwardly,-so as to lie against the outsideof the tube, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. At the opposite end arearms I) b, the ends where of are connected with springs c 0, attached tothe tube. These springs tend to draw the arms toward the tube, and thusthrow the doors apart, bringing the arms a a in contact at their upperends.

On the side of the tube or spout is a slotted plunger, F,held in placeby the heads of screws (2 cl, passed through the slot into the tube, soas to allow the plunger to slide freely up and down. The lower end ofthis plunger forms a short angular point, which rests between the endsof arms a a, while its upper end is pivoted to one end of aconnecting-rod, e, the op posite end whereof is pivoted to the end ofthe arm f, extending inward through the slot 0 from the upper hingededge of the door G, which covers the slit 0. The arm f makes aright-angular bend through the slit, so as to extend in a parallel linefrom the door, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the door G is lifted touncover slit 0,

' point the door G is about one-third open, and

the straight edges of the plunger are between the arms a a, and nofurther pressure is exerted upon them. Thus the plunger is allowed todescend until the door is fully opened. The doors E E are closed at thefirst movement, in order that no opportunity may be afi'orded to insertan instrument for extracting the letters during the opening of door G.

\Vhen letters are put through the slit (J they fall in the tube, andrest upon the closed doors E E. As soon, however, as the door G isallowed to close down the plunger F is drawn up, and the springs 0, whenthe door G is nearly closed, open the doors E, and the letter falls intothe box below. The positions the several parts assume in the operationof opening the door for the admission of the letter and dropping it intothe box are clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The modification of the improvement consists in operating, by the coverof the slit, a sliding door under the letter tube or spout and over anaperture in a division of the box immediately under the tube.

The slit for the admission of the letters is shown at H in the top ofthe casing. From this a spout, I, leads down and opens over an aperture,g, in a division, J, in the letter-box.

The arms 71, extending from the hinged edge of the door K inside thebox, are pivoted to the upper ends of rods L L, the lower ends whereofare provided with slots working over pivots i in the ends of slidingdoor M, resting on the division J. A spiral spring, j, connects one ofthe arms h with the opposite side of the casing, and operates to drawthe arm to a horizontal position.

When the door K is lifted the arms h instantly throw the rods L, andwith them the door M, forward over the aperture 9, as in Fig. 6, thesprings Z on the arms h bearing upon the ends of rods L, and making thec011- nection sufficiently rigid to carry the rods and door forward; butwhen the movement of the door is stopped by pins m the rods turn ontheir pivots and slide down over the pivots t, leaving the doorundisturbed, and permitting the door K to rise without trouble. Thiscloses the entrance to the letterbox below, and makes it impossible toabstract the letters.

WVhen a letter is passed through the slit it falls down through thespout and rests on the door M, and when the door K is lowered the springj draws it down quickly, and simultaneously the arms operate on the rodsL, raising them up, and when the door K is nearly closed the door M isthrown back, and the letter falls into the box below.

The fingers n, extending downward from the end of the spout, are toprevent the door M from being lifted up off its seat.

Instead of springsc c to open doors E E, they may be weighted in such away as to open themselves when the plunger is withdrawn.

The arrangement may be applied to moneyboxes and other receptacles forvaluables.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent 1. The plunger F, held by set-screws passedthrough the slot into the tube D, provided with an angular end,connected through rod 0 with arm f, in combination with the hinged doorsE E, provided with arms a a and springs c c, and tube D, whereby, whendoor G is opened and letters are passed through into the spout, theplunger closes doors E E by throwing arms a a apart, and when door G isclosed the plunger is withdrawn and springs c 0 open doors E E,substantially as described.

2. The plunger F, operated by door G, and provided with the slot andpointed end, in combination with the arms a a of doors E E, whereby,when first moved by door G, it closes doors E until the arms a a bear onits straight sides, when it passes down without straining the saiddoors, substantially as described.

VVAUHOPE LYN N GOTTFRIED CLASEN.

Witnesses:

WILTON O. DONN, O. SEDGwIcK.

